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I. What is Immersion
a. Create students that are proficient in Spanish
b. Students that are exceeding all standard guidelines
c. Additive bilingualism – adding to their brain development
II. How it is designed
a. Preschool – 100% Spanish
b. Kindergarten- 100% Spanish
c. 1st grade- 100% Spanish
d. 2nd – 30 minutes a day English Instruction
e. 3rd- 45 minutes a day English Instruction
f. 4th- 1 hour a day in English Instruction
g. 5th- 1.5 hours a day English Instruction
h. 6th-12th grade: Maintenance
• last point of entry is 1st grade
• add a new grade level each year: one or two new classrooms
III. Research
a. Benefits
• Cognitive benefits
1. Negotiation of meaning
• Academic benefits
1. At or above grade level
• Social benefits
1. Preparing students to live in the world today
2. What does God’s kingdom look like?
a. Relate to God’s kingdom
b. Matthew 28:19
c. Acts 2:6- speaking in tongues
d. I Corinthians 9:19-23
• On which side of the gap will your child fall?
IV. Question and Answer time
a. Second and third graders open to?
• Depends on survey- P-1st
b. Requirements for teachers?
• College Spanish teachers not equipped to teach in the language
• Brought teachers in from other areas
• Superior or native like proficient level
c. How do we help them with homework?
• Sitting physically reading with your child
• Math comes home in English
• Newsletter information
• Read at home to your children in English
d. Separation of kids
• Christian program?
• Primary goal- love God and love kids
• Both programs to give equal value
• Unity building steps to help
• Transforming the school in so many ways – broader view of the world
• Not in the program a touch of culture to a different parts of the world
• Spills over into the whole school
e. Standardized testing
• 1st grade
f. Best practices
• State standards
• Focus on language arts
• CSI in Spanish (K-5 is done)
• Meeting same goals just in Spanish
• High level of Spanish in developmentally appropriate way
• Same as traditional curriculum that we have
g. Current Spanish program if it does not pass?
• Yes
h. High School?
• Maintenance
i. Financial –
• Growth slow and calculated
• Rooms- new teachers?
• Short term and long term plans
• Facts on growth
• Other countries – know more than one
j. Whose standards do they use in Bible and History?
• History and Bible
• Standards and benchmarks every 7 years
• Do not let the textbooks drive the standards and benchmarks
k. Book learning from the stranger
l. Stats
• See data
• Links posted on the website (David)
m. Academic performance
• Higher raise the bar in Spanish higher reading skills go up
n. Early reading invention
• Struggling learner is a struggling learner
• Struggle classrooms equally
• English as well as Spanish support
• One class first few years
o. Would you recommend one direction or another?
• No would not say that
p. Teacher from Reformed perspective
q. Don’t convey frustration to your child
r. Handbook- link on the website
s. Timeline
• Feasibility study
• Surveys out there
• Education committee- February 14
• End of March- direction going
t. Special needs- Speech
• Articulation
• Speech kids – same speech help as other kids
u. Minimum size
• 20 – 25 students
v. FLES vs. Immersion
• Have FLES right now
w. Financially commitment to Christian education
• If – out of traditional program?
• No desire for English subsidized
• Not one program support another one
x. Staffing?
• Worst case scenario
y. Last grade to start first grade?
• Disadvantage to start in K
• Time spent in the language
• Don’t gain fluency just proficiency
z. Format of preschool looking at
• Curriculum in any way
aa. Extra resources for older kids
• Rosetta stone
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